PHILIPPINES: Torture victims speak out–” Everybody says torture is wrong, but it is commonly used” Interview 8

Contributor: Basil Fernando

 

AHRC, July 19, 2011

 

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An interview with Basil Fernando, director for Policy and Programme Development of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

SPECIAL REPORT

Torture in the Philippines & the unfulfilled promise of the 1987 Constitution

OVERVIEW: In this eighth interview in the series, Basil Fernando, a Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director for Policy and Program Development of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), shares his thoughts about why the issue of police torture is of the utmost importance in his country

Basil has been helping numerous torture victims, published books and carried out in-depth research and studies on the issue of police torture in Sri Lanka for over a decade. You can read more of his writings online at: http://www.basilfernando.net/

Basil: I think everybody knows the situation of our countries, whether it is the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand or any other country here in Asia except for a few places were rule of law and democracy is more established. The answer to the question as to why we concentrate on police torture is simply because police torture is so common, so widespread and creates so much intimidation on the people as it is a common experience of our daily lives.

Continues >>